Support parents Shivraj Mama or bear loss in elections, says Jagrit Palak Sangh: More than 500 protested against Govt & Schools demanding fee relief

Protesting against district administration and state government led by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, over 500 parents staged a protest at Regal Square on Sunday. Parents held up placards and shouted slogans against the government for not providing any relief to parents and supporting private schools. 

The group of parents raised issues against 20 private schools affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The protest was organised under ‘Jago Palak Jago’ campaign run by Jagrit Palak Sangh. 

The group of parents including men and women marched on MG road holding up placards to protest.

“The protest is against the arbitrary tuition fees of private schools and the silent consent of the government and administration to this indirect torture on parents and students,” Advocate Chanchal Gupta, activist of the Sangh, said. 

He added that the government has issued an order allowing private school operators to collect ‘only’ tuition fees on the grounds that tuition fees is ‘extremely low’.

The association has filed a petition in the High Court, in which the school operators want to collect all the fees, while on the other hand, to take advantage of the government's order of tuition fee collection only, and to recover the fees from parents in the name of online education. 

Gupta from the Sangh said, “Schools continue to create pressure of fee payment on parents despite explicit orders given by government barring them to do so.” He added that citing fee dues, children are mentally tortured by schools by depriving them of studies, tests, examinations and results. 

Gupta said, “As shared by parents, children are being harassed and humiliated in public during online studies, which is having a very adverse effect on the mind of the children and infuriating the children.”

Further, parents alleged that school operators have increased tuition fees in violation of the rule and court order, rather than giving fees to parents. 

Satish Sharma from the Sangh said, “School operators are being protected by the government and administration by neglecting the interests and rights of the parents of the state, which is causing resentment and mistrust towards the state government.” 

Activist from the Sangh Deepak Sharma said, “If the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh calls himself the maternal uncle of the children of the state, then he should pay the duty of being an uncle.” He added that the words and actions of the Chief Minister is tarnishing his uncle's image.

“If soon the state government does not take any step in the interest of the parents, then the state government will have to bear the loss in the upcoming by-elections,” Sharma said.  

Other parents leading the protests against various schools were Prateek Tagad, Vishal Premi, Dev Khubani and Ramakant Sharma.